Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz wasn’t one of the names you heard the most leading up to the final days of consideration for a vice-presidential running mate for Kamala Harris, so his selection was a surprise to many, including a number of Washington insiders.
What made him rise to the top? Here are a few points that seem to have led to his selection.
His Dad Vibes
He comes across as the kind of guy that makes a good dad, and that came through in some videos that have become a hit on social media. He’s approachable and fun-loving.
Walz, a balding 60-year-old former high school football coach, has become a liberal favorite on social media precisely for his off-the-charts levels of uncoolness.
A year-old video he filmed with his daughter, Hope, while visiting the Minnesota State Fair went viral. It showed Walz screaming on a ride called the Slingshot and cheerfully admonishing his daughter for her lack of interest in eating corn dogs.
“I’m vegetarian,” his daughter said.
“Turkey, then,” the camouflage-hat-wearing Walz said.
In other resurfaced videos, he seems to enjoy doting on the family cat, Honey, and cats are awfully popular on social media.
A person close to the selection process said that Walz’s previous career as a high school teacher and football coach also appealed to Harris, who has gained the support of the nation’s teachers unions.
The American Federation of Teachers, a powerful broker in Democratic politics, last month became the first labor union to endorse Harris. And the National Education Association, the largest labor union in the country, announced its support for the Democratic ticket on Aug. 6 after Walz’s selection was revealed.
His Populist Policies
As governor, Walz championed a host of liberal policies in Minnesota that are popular with Democratic and independent-leaning voters, including a statewide child tax credit and a paid-leave program, focused on helping lower- and middle-income Americans. A Harris administration would try to enact legislation like this on a national scale, according to two people directly familiar with the vice president’s decision-making.
In 2023, Walz signed into law a bill that gave schoolchildren access to free meals, making Minnesota the fourth state in the nation to provide free meals.
Beyond economics, Walz also signed a bill in 2023 that codified the protections of Roe v. Wade, which had guaranteed a constitutional right to abortion, into law in his state.
Walz also has a personal story about in vitro fertilization, which has been targeted by conservative groups who say frozen embryos could be considered “extrauterine children.” To conceive his daughter, Walz and his wife, Gwen, had gone through treatments for the procedure that stretched over seven years.
On foreign policy, Walz has not spoken extensively about the war in Gaza, one of the thorniest issues facing the Biden administration. On immigration, Walz has said he supports a pathway to citizenship for people brought to the United States as children, which is in line with the current administration’s policies.
His Potential to Speak to Rural Voters
Raised in rural Nebraska, Walz is the son of a homemaker and a public school administrator. He enlisted in the Army National Guard at age 17.
A post from Harris on Instagram ticked off more facts about his past: “His father died of cancer when he was 19, and his family relied on Social Security survivor benefit checks to make ends meet. At 17, he enlisted in the National Guard, serving for 24 years. He used his GI Bill benefits to go to college, and become a teacher.”
If that sounds like a checklist of biographical items that could appeal to Midwestern voters, that is exactly the thinking of Harris and her advisers, who believe that she needs someone with political pull in Midwestern states — including Michigan and Wisconsin — that are considered must-wins for her.
He is a hunter who has spoken of his gun ownership and past “A” rating from the National Rifle Association. In 2016, Guns & Ammo magazine included him on its list of top 20 politicians for gun owners. But after a teenage gunman killed 17 people at a Florida high school in February 2018, Walz spoke out in favor of an assault weapons ban.
In 2023, he signed into law a bill that would require people buying firearms to undergo background checks and allow law enforcement officials the ability to intervene if a person owning a firearm posed a risk to themselves or others.
His Contrast With Trump’s Running Mate, JD Vance
Harris and her advisers believe Walz will match up well on a debate stage against U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, former President Donald J. Trump’s vice-presidential candidate and a fellow Midwesterner.
As they watched Walz closely during a breakneck vetting period, Harris and her team liked his straight-talking style, including when he called Trump and some other Republicans “weird.”
“You know there’s something wrong with people when they talk about freedom: freedom to be in your bedroom, freedom to be in your exam room, freedom to tell your kids what they can read. That stuff is weird,” Walz said during an MSNBC appearance on July 25.
In the end, it came down to winning — and chemistry
Several people close to the decision-making process said that Harris held in-person interviews at the vice president’s residence with several hopefuls, including Walz, Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, and Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona. In the end, they said, Harris simply connected the best with Walz.
Her selection suggests that she trusts Walz not only to help her win but also to help her govern.